Happy Halloween (Post 235)

Well, I'm sure the question on your mind today is:

How long can I keep the Trick-or-Treat candy, before it goes bad?

Well, Surprise! Surprise! Candy never truly goes bad.

Do you know why?

Because of the huge amounts of sugar in it.

It will however lose it's flavor and color.

Carmel is good for 6 to 9 months or can be frozen and stay good for a year.

Gum is chewable for 6 to 9 months and then will dry out.

Candy Corn can last for 9 months if you just look at the package and don't open it, but if open last 3 to 6 months

Jelled Candy can last a year unopened, but only 6 to 9 months in a candy dish.

Hard Candy can last one year.

Chocolate - that ever loveable chocolate can last 1 to 2 years.

Enjoy the candy and hoard a little for those middle of the night cravings throughout the year.

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Trouble Sleeping? (Post 234)

If you are having trouble sleeping - here's a list of foods to add to your ten cent crazy book - that when eaten - will help you get sleepy

Tofu
French Bread
Red Baked Potatoes
Instant Rice
Cornflakes
Rice Cakes
Pretzels
Grapenut Flakes Cereal
Jelly Beans
Vanilla Wafers
French Fries
Saltine Crackers
Graham Crackers
Honey
Mashed Potatoes
A Bagel
Corn Chips
Watermelon

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Foods That Reduce Stress (Post 233)

Here's a list for your ten cent crazy book of foods and drinks that are said to reduce stress

broccoli
salmon
dark chocolate
nuts
milk
hot cocoa
black and green tea
cold water

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How To Keep Your Mind Sharp (Post 232)

Here's a List to add to your ten cent crazy book on how to keep the mind sharp

To have and keep a healthy brain

Meditate - take a few minutes each day to sit quietly and take in life

Find a purpose- find something you love to do or someplace you need to be to help others

Exercise- - take a walk everyday

Socialize- find a group of friends or family and plan a fun time with them at least once a month

Learn something new - take some kind of lessons or a class - or teach yourself a new skill

See a doctor when needed - if you're sick or have a pain - have it checked out

Don't drink, smoke or use drugs - an occasional drink or prescribed drugs are fine - but keep trying to get rid of the smokes

Set financial goals - know where your money goes - and keeping track of it is great brain power - plan a vacation and how to pay for it

Eat well- don't eat just junk - plan a nice meal

Have a best friend- someone close to talk to - helps to keep things in prospective

These tips should keep you the sharpest pencil or knife in the drawer, or the brightest crayon in the box or bulf in the chandelier. whatever floats your boat and hopefully you have both oars in the water.

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No Calorie Foods! (Post 231)

Are you dieting or just watching your weight?

Here's a list of foods to add to your ten cent crazy book that you can eat in unlimited quantifies - because they have hardly any calories

Water Chestnuts
Tomatoes
Artichokes
Peppers
Broccoli
Radishes
Carrots
Lettuce
Cauliflower
Celery
Mushrooms
Asparagus

Drink Water, Club Soda, Black Coffee or unsweetened Tea

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Pumpkin Cake (Post 230)

Here's the recipe for your ten cent crazy book - to fit the season of pumpkins and Halloween

Pumpkin Cake

Preheat oven at 350 degrees

Mix

3 cups self-rising flour
2 and a half teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup butter
2 cups of sugar
15 oz pumpkin in a can
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Spray Bundt pan with oil
Pour mix into pan and bake for 1 hour
Toothpick should come out clean
Let cake cool in pan for about 10 minutes

Glaze

Mix

4 oz cream cheese
half a cup of confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons of milk
one forth of a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pour over cake
Enjoy!

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Candy Calories (Post 229)

Are you worried about eating all the trick-or treat candy?
Here's a list for your ten cent crazy book of the approximate calories in all those little fun-size candy bars

100 calories each
Strawberry Twizzlers 3

85 calories each
Baby Ruth
Butterfinger

80 calories each
Almond Joy
Milky Way
Mounds
Twix

70 calories each
Peanut M&M's
Snickers

60 calories each
Skittles
Plain M&M's

65 calories each
3 Musketeers

40 calories each
Kit Kat

35 calories each
miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

Don't gobble down too many!

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Trick or Treat Safety Tips (Post 228)

Here's a list of Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips to add to your ten cent crazy book

An adult should always inspect children's candy when they are done trick-or-treating to remove open packages and choking hazards and throw out anything not factory-wrapped - no homemade treats unless you know the cook.- limit amount of treats to be eaten for the evening

Anyone Trick or Treating should always wear light colored clothing to be seen in the dark - and reflective tape should be put on bikes, skateboards, brooms and trick or treat bags

Map out a route so that everyone knows where they are going and how to get home

You may be dressed strange so be careful around animals, especially dogs

Stay on the sidewalks - don't walk in the street

Everyone should have a flashlight with fresh batteries

Stay off the grass and only visit homes with porch lights on

Don't talk to a stranger that approaches you, never go inside a strangers home or get into their car

Watch for cars - look both ways before crossing the street and cross at the corner, don't go between parked vehicles

Use face paint instead of a mask - test make-up on a small area of skin and never go to bed with it on

Use a glow stick instead of a candle in pumpkins. If there is a pumpkin with a candle, be careful, wigs, capes and costumes will catch fire if you get to close

Children should know how to call 9-1-1 if they become lost

Costume accessories (swords, knifes, sticks, canes) should be short, soft and flexible

Hats should not cover eyes

Shoes should fit well

Never trick or treat alone

Don't cut through alleys or fields, stay in populated, well lighted areas

Having a cell phone with you is always a good idea

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Trick or Treat Candy (Post 227)

I hope this Halloween you get all of the candy that you ever dreamed of getting in your trick or treat bag.

It was always so much fun to come home and dump out that trick or treat bag and see what you got and what you had to trade with your friends and siblings. Here's the list of favorite trick or treat candy that my friends and I would always dream about - add this list to your ten cent crazy book or make up your own trick or treat wish list - What do you think of when you dream of trick or treating?

3 Musketeers
100 Grand
5th Avenue
Almond Joy
Atomic Fire Balls
Baby Ruth
Bazooka Gum
Bit-O-Honey
Blow Pops
Boston baked Beans
Bottle Caps
Bubblicious
Butterfingers
Candy Cigarettes
Candy Corn
Candy Necklaces
Caramel Squares
Chick-o-Stick
Chiclets
Fizzies
Fun Dip
Gobstoppers
Good and Plenty
Gum Cigars
Gumdrops
Gummy Bears
Gummy Worms
Hershey Bars
Hershey Kisses
Hot Tamales
Jaw Breakers
Jolly Ranchers
Jujubes
Junior Mints
Kit Kat
Lemon Heads
M & M's
Marathon Bars
Mars Bars
Mike and Ike
Milky Way
Mounds
Nerds
Nestle Crunch
Now and Later
Pixy Sticks
Pop Rocks
Red Hots
Reeses PB Cups
Reeses Pieces
Root Beer Barrels
Skittles
Slo-Pokes
Smarties
Snickers
Starburst
Sugar Babies
Sweet Tarts
Taffy
Tootsie Roll
Tootsie Pop
Twix
Warheads
Wax Lips
Wax Mustache
Zagnut
Zero

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Chili (Post 226)

October is National Chili Month, so here's a super easy chili recipe to add to your ten cent crazy book

Super Easy Chili

2 pounds ground chuck
frozen bag of chopped onions and peppers
1 small can tomato paste
1 medium can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can red kidney beans

fry 1 cup onions and peppers with ground chuck,
when meat is done add everything else to pan
and enough water to make chili as thick or thin
as you would like - done when bubbling hot

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Spinach Dip (Post 225)

Here's another great recipe to add to your ten cent crazy book

Spinach Dip

Mix
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 pkg vegetable soup mix
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
16oz Sour Cream
Serve with white corn chips or crackers (Really Good)

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National Book Month (Post 224)

Well, October is National Book Month. When's the last time you read a really good book? - Some of us read all the time and we have started buying things like electronic machines that are about the size of a book - but they hold thousands of books - I can see this being a space saver, but unlike a book - if it gets wet - you can't dry it out - and if you sit on a book, it does not break and you can still read it. Well, technology is the now and the future of everything, but if you would like to curl up with a good book - electronic or otherwise - here's a list of some of the best books to add to your ten cent crazy book - buy one - give one as a gift - read one, after all - it's National Book Month.

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -C. S Lewis
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter
Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss
Betty Crocker Cookbook - Betty Crocker

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Halloween Food Favorites (Post 223)

Ok, Halloween is upon us, so here is a list of popular Halloween food to add to your ten cent crazy book

Candy, Caramel and taffy apples
Pumpkin pie and Pumpkin Bread
Candy Corn
Candy or Cookies shaped like skulls, pumpkins, witches, bats, monsters, vampires etc.

Soul Cakes

One for Peter, two for Paul,
three for Him what made us all!
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, any good thing to make us all merry.
One for Peter, two for Paul, & three for Him who made us all.

Soul Cakes

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons raisins
a little milk

Mix butter, sugar and eggs
Add spices and flour
Stir in raisins
Add milk to make dough soft
Make into flat cookie like cakes
Make cross on top of each with knife
Bake at 350 degrees on greased cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes

Pumpkin Bread

3 and a half cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 and a half cups granulated sugar
1 and a half cups packed brown sugar
1 cup of oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of nuts

Mix dry ingredients
Add in oil, pumpkin and then eggs
Pour into two greased loaf pans
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes
toothpick should come out clean
Remove from pans while hot

Don't forget to buy the Reese's Cups and Snickers Bars which seem to be a couple of trick or treat favorites



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Teddy Bear Day (Post 222)

Here's something to add to the calendar in your ten cent crazy book

October 13th is
National Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work and School Day

You see in 1902 Teddy Roosevelt was invited to go hunting. When most of the other hunters had killed something and he had not, his attendants clubbed a black bear and tied it to a tree for him to shoot..
When he refused and said it was unsportsmanlike - political cartoonist had a field day and starting drawing cartoons - each making the bear smaller and smaller.
And the toy of a "Teddy" Bear came to be.

So it's good for us adults to have an excuse to carry our Teddy Bears around one day a year, thanks to a president who refused to use unsportsmanlike conduct.

So whether you have a good old fashion "Teddy" Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington, Teddy Ruxpin or Care Bear get him out and take him to work.

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Fire Prevention Week (Post 221)

Ok, it's fire prevention week - here's a list of fire prevention tips to add to your ten cent crazy book

Install and maintain smoke detectors (change those batteries)

Plan and practice escapes (don't block those windows)

Space heaters need space (at least 3 feet from anything- don't leave them on when you're gone or in bed)

If you smoke be careful - cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths (don't smoke when tired and water down the butts)

Be careful cooking (watch those sleeves)

Keep matches and lighters away from children

Don't overload extension cords (if the cord is cracked or the toaster smokes get rid of it)

Cool a burn with cold water

Stop, Drop and Roll

Crawl under smoke

Be safe and teach others how

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How To Relax (Post 220)

Some people are so busy all the time that when they find a few minutes to themselves or perhaps a whole day free, they have no idea how to relax or what to do with their time. Well here are a few ideas to write in your ten cent crazy book, on how to relax.

Get a rubdown
Play golf
Work with your hands – paint, sew, build something, garden
Fish or go hunting
Pamper yourself with whatever makes you happy – an expensive cup of coffee, a new book, purse or shoes
Go to the movies
Exercise
Take a Nap
Look through your old cookbooks
Keep toys on your desk
Work a crossword puzzle
Hire someone to work for you – to buy your groceries or do your yard work
Buy takeout and bakery items, instead of cooking
Watch an old movie
Drink some hot tea
Read
Write in a Journal
Call a friend
Take a walk
Go to park
Eat chocolate

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Carving Pumpkins (Post 219)

Ok, it’s time to buy those pumpkins – whether you’re going to carve them or just sit them out in front of the house or on a kitchen counter or next to the fireplace, there are pumpkins everywhere you look. Find whatever pumpkin makes you feel happy – maybe it’s putting a pumpkin on every step – ranging in size from large too small or just one great big jolly pumpkin.
Pumpkins last a really long time if the weather is cool, and you don’t carve them – they can easily look good from Halloween until Thanksgiving.

If you do plan on carving your pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern – here are some tips to add to your ten cent crazy book.

Before you get out the knife – think about it

If you carve your pumpkin, more than a week before Halloween – you will probably have gnats everywhere by time the trick or treating starts

Know what kind of face you want to give your pumpkin

Draw it on a piece of paper – really like it

Remember if you make cuts between the mouth and nose to close to each other your pumpkin may crack and fall apart

Buy the right pumpkin

Sometimes a malformed pumpkin will cost less, but if you get a big pumpkin with a flat side and a large stem – you can always lay it on its side and display the stem as the pumpkins nose

Before carving – set your pumpkin on plenty of newspaper

Your knife should be long enough to cut through the shell but not go through the other side of the pumpkin

Draw your face on with a pencil

Do you want round or triangle eyes?

If you keep the pieces you cut out, you can use a couple of bread ties and make your pumpkin look like he has floating eyeballs by cutting out and attaching round eyeballs with the wires from the bread ties on the inside of the pumpkin

Do you want eyebrows to give him character or make him look mean?

Do you want a circle mouth, making the pumpkin look afraid or jagged teeth to make him mean or square teeth and a big smile? – straw added to square teeth can make him look like he has braces

Draw a circle and carve your lid on an inward angle – so the lid will not fall inside the pumpkin

Turn the pumpkin on its side and remove the insides of the pumpkin.
My pumpkins insides go straight into the trash – but some people use them for pies, soups or toast the seeds

Scooping out the insides is not always an easy job – most of the insides - you can get out with your hands and then I suggest you use an ice cream scoop – scrape the inside of the lid also

Now, carve the face at an angle to make the holes on the inside of the pumpkin wider than the outside holes

Sprinkle carved pumpkin with ground cinnamon - to make it last longer and smell good

All Done – I hope you and others enjoy your pumpkins

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Favorite Magazines (Post 218)

We each have our own list of favorite magazines; I order quite a few magazines through the mail, so in my ten cent crazy book I keep a list of my favorite magazines. I put a check next to those that come in the mail and list those that I buy at the checkout stand. If I notice that I’m purchasing the same magazine over and over, I will order a subscription. I just ordered a magazine for fifteen bucks – which I will receive every month for three years. In the store – I was paying 3.99 a month – I just saved myself $129 bucks over the next three years on one magazine.

My favorite magazines

Women’s Day
Ladies Home Journal
Good Housekeeping
Rachael Ray
Food Network
Real Simple
Martha Stewart Living
Better Homes and Gardens
Semi-Homemade
Family Circle
Southern Living

List your magazines and keep track of how often you buy them.
It can save you a lot of money to get them through the mail.
(Hint-don’t use a credit card to pay for a subscription – always check the (bill me later) box and when the bill comes – write a check and mail it in. The reason – a lot of magazines will just continue to charge your credit card year after year and continue your subscription forever, regardless of how much their cost increases – unless you cancel the subscription – and this may be difficult, since your credit card has already been charged) Plus, if you write a check and let the subscription run out – you can sometimes get a better deal, starting a new subscription – and if you decide you like another magazine better – you may want to order it instead.

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October (Post 217)

Here's some things to know and to add to your ten cent crazy book about October

Well, October is upon us and all the ghost and goblins are out to have fun. Did you know that October 6 is mad hatter day? The next time you watch "Alice in Wonderland" or read the book - look for the big 10/6 on the mad hatter's hat - of course it is said that perhaps this is the style and size of the hat, but in any case, someone decided that it must be the day to act like the mad hatter and just be silly all day (not that some of us need an excuse to be silly all day)

Fruits and Vegetables that are in season during October

Pumpkins
Sweet Potatoes
Apples
Broccoli
Turnips
Pineapple
Pears
Squash
Brussel Sprouts
Cranberries
Grapes

Best things to buy in Oct are:

denim
cookware
big appliances


During October Celebrate:

Columbus Day and Halloween

If you were born in October so was:

Kelly Ripa
Sting
Gandhi
Taylor Hicks
Sharon Osbourne
Usher
Snoop Dogg
Kim Kardashian
Shaggy
Julia Roberts
Bill Gates

Don't forget October is National Popcorn Poppin' Month
And National Caramel Month -
So enjoy the popcorn and go and buy that caramel apple, that seems to only appear in the grocery store during October

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